BioBlitz 2016

Grant Park

Property Description

Grant Park, a unit of the Milwaukee County Park System, is a 381-acre park located at 42.918056 N 87.845982 W. It is a multi-use park with a golf course, tennis courts, soccer fields, and natural areas. The park contains a variety of habitats (lake shore, bluffs, forests, grasslands, and a riverine corridor), which increased the number of plant and animal species expected to be found and add challenge to the survey. The Warnimont Bluff Fens State Natural Area (an outstanding example of a unique type of natural community with rare plants and animals) is also adjacent to the park. Grant Park is yet another showcase of the amazing diversity that is contained within our neighborhoods.

Interesting Discoveries

Carex eburnea, a new sedge record for Milwaukee County.

Iowa Darter, a fish not previously reported from Oak Creek.

Many individuals of the invasive Round Goby, which is known to displace native species.

Calledapteryx dryopterata (Brown Scoopwing moth), a species for which few WI records exist.

Agrotis stigmosa, a moth of open, dry sandy habitats, found at the beach at the south end of the park.

A few non-native (but also not harmful or pest) moths: Pasiphila rectangulata, Apamea unanimis, and Noctua pronuba.

Two new beetle species records for Milwaukee County (and these are only the second collections in the state!): Agonum galvestonicum and the non-native Harpalus rubripes.